I know I can be a wordy sonuvagun (though I’d like to think I’ve gotten better with time and experience), but I really do love strips like this that are more about economy of storytelling than how many words I can stick in a panel. Marc nailed the emotion in a big way, putting the focus on Cap in a way my script just didn’t think to do.
Long time readers will grasp the significance of the last panel right away, but for the rest of you all you need to know is in this one page from SuperFogeys Origins. Enjoy!
Brock, I don’t want to get too gushy and fan-girlish over here, but I have to say that I LOVE how you always take the characters and the storyline the directions that I never imagined, and you do it with such grace and authenticity (if that’s the right word). You never disappoint. Thank you. 🙂
And kudos to Marc for capturing the wistfulness and sorrow on Cap’s face. It’s tender. Good job, guys.
Gotta admit… you put a huge smile on my face, Heidi. Gushing is always, ALWAYS allowed.
Well.
…
That’s all I can say, except- awesome.
Thank you, sir!
Okay, I did not see that coming at all… Looks like Tom may get his mother back. 🙂
Glad you were surprised!
, the article is manikg me :/ with its but but but autism is so HORRIBLE think of the poor parents!!! , mischaracterisation of autism (although of course if I actually mention this anywhere I’ll be met with but you have AS that’s completely different you have NO IDEA what our little demon children are like ><) and completely buying into the idea that autism is increasing when, you know, widening diagnostic criteria and diagnostic substitution could explain all of the increase. Sigh. Baby steps.
Fantastic,Yes definately ,you have all the cabiler to become an topic related post maker. I largely believe expensive wedding dresses are stupid and that lavish weddings don’t make sense for most people.
I’m really insetetred in which the Digital Humanities developments might align with the hack day and developer communities. I think Mia Ridge has been doing some fantastic work in this area and the link between these communities and the museum user community as well. At the moment I’m particularly focused on an online Shakespeare hackday we are hoping to run for a project called Will’s World, which is building a registry of Shakespeare resources. And I would be hugely appreciative if others here would consider filling out a survey we are running to give us an idea of what would make a fun, productive and accessible hack event around Shakespeare data and metadata:Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks, Nicola.
Very nicely done. PS Can the store be fixed please. It’s a bit hard to buy the books if the link to the Store is alwaysdown for maintenance.
Thanks for the reminder, Bruce. The store is one of those things I don’t really have any control over, but I went ahead and put in another request for it to be fixed. Sadly, we don’t have any more books available anyway, so I also put in another request for a new, more comprehensive Volume 1. Updates as I have them.
That is a good plan. Michelle’s going to kick Zurida’s butt now.
I wouldn’t put it past her.
Well he has done the one thing most super heroes never do… he has taken advantage of the situation. (I mean yes he is old, but he is still planning a way to help get rid of the aliens. He is also getting some of the things he wants out of the way.)
Too true. This is a different Cap than we’re used to–and a different tactic for superhero overall. So far, he hasn’t thrown a punch. We’ll see if it stays that way.
This is just epic! I don’t have enough facebooks to give you enough likes!… Just thinking about Cap’s lines, how can he be a “willing prisoner”? Lately he hasn’t been so “spectacular” (both space monkeys and Zurida mopped the floor with him) I understand the monkeys, it was an ambush and he was drunk and emo, but I think that he would put more of a fight against Zurida. I don’t know if he could deal with his current situation, more like Quin says, I think he is just taking advantage of the situation, and waiting for… something, but that doesn’t make him a willing prisoner, just a prisoner with benefits and plans to sabotage Zurida’s plan. Great work as always Greg & Marc!
Did you read Monday’s strip? I think that pretty much answers your questions here. But you’re essentially right–he’s not “willing” so much as scheming, or taking advantage. Glad you did this direction!
Thanks for the link back to the Origins. I chuckled at the For Sale sign in front of the Society of Heroes building.
I try to walk the line between letting people figure things out for themselves and also giving people the information they need to fully enjoy the strip. With webcomics, I think there’s such a passage of time between updates that it’s okay to just point people toward the relevant history. Glad you appreciate the effort. I don’t mind people wondering what’s going on, but I don’t want anyone to feel lost.
As for the “For Sale” sign… that was all Marc. I thought it was pretty terrific, too.
I spent a good bit of time the last two days trying to guess what the “first condition” could be. Saving Michelle never occurred to me. In fact, nothing even half as meaningful came to mind.
Bravo, guys!
Thanks, John! I always wanted to get Michelle back into the story (I thought putting her front and center in this strip: http://superfogeys.com/2012/07/25/430-meanwhile-at-the-great-hall-of-the-society-of-heroes/ was a dead giveaway that I was planning something for later, but I think you’d have to actually be in my head to think that’s in any way a clue) as I think she’s a character there’s a lot more to than what we’ve see and I’m interested in seeing the effect she has on Cap. Glad you approve!
Once that creepy statue is out of the way that’s going to be some prime real estate. Get some big box stores in there stat. I forgot Cap’s last name was Edson.
It’s a not-very-often-repeated fact. Bonus points if you can figure out why.
wow
Brilliant! Simply brilliant, and on so many levels. I think we’re finally going to get to see a bit more of the Captain Spectacular the man and I like where it’s going so far. When I read this and looked at the comments from the other readers it made me realize for the firs time we really don’t know CS as a person. What we’ve seen so far has been based on his interactions with the other characters and how they react to him. Their memories of him. What we’ve seen has been filtered through how the other characters perceive him and a lot of them are bitter towards him. When I look back, despite being such a central character around which so many plots revolve, it’s like he’s been on the periphery. I think that this is the reason for the number of CS haters you’ve commented on before. I don’t think we’ve seen much, if any, of the story or history of the SF universe from his own point of view. Even with the Origins, we had stories in the past with him, but none of them were ever really told from CS’s perspective. And Brock Heasley being Brock Heasley, I think this was your devious intention, to which I say: “Good show, sir, good show!” On a side note, we’re getting Michelle back. That puts as at three of Cap’s wives and Spygal. I’m waiting for Zurida to turn out to be Betty Hofstadt or a Dr Rocket-resurrected zombie Samantha Roberts to turn up.
You think I’m smarter than I am? I’ll take it! But no, you point out something interesting here. I can think of one story we know from Cap’s perspective–his origin in Chapter 6–but that’s about it. In any case, I can feel the tide changing on Cap. This is an ensemble, so it doesn’t really matter if you guys like him or not, but I can feel it changing.
I just wanted to comment on how great Mark is doing on the art, it just seems to have taken a big leap recently in the details and I love the shading in these panels.
Sam, I could not agree more.
This country is being oveurrn by too many regulations. Just lately I spoke with a gal who did the books for a nursing home for many years and a guy whose wife has worked as a school clerk for decades. Both told the same story of a steady increase in paperwork demanded by state and federal governments. The sad thing is that the number of nursing home residents has been stagnant, and student numbers have dropped dramatically over time, due to smaller families and much more home schooling. I know of no improvement in nursing home care or student performance that can be attributed to the growing government requirements either.